


The symbols we have

by RaspberryDevil



Series: A bouquet of Zinnias [8]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Family Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 17:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18673849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaspberryDevil/pseuds/RaspberryDevil
Summary: They always had different symbols in their life. Rings. Scars. Their Guildmark. Tattoos. This is a story full of those.





	The symbols we have

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant for a fandom week with the prompt 'symbols' but I wasn't happy with it then, so have it a bit later. As part of my BoZ series, this story takes place in a kind of canon compliant universe, but you should be able to be read it on its own! FYI Linus is an OC child, he shows up in Hold my Hand first. He's around eleven and Sting/Rogue are about 31/32 in this story!

When he had been younger, Sting appreciated Jason's visits. It had been a good way to tell the public about their strength before they would show it during the Grand Magic Games. As soon as Sting officially became their new Master, they were mainly hoping for positive coverage in the magazine. Almost counting on it. Now he was rather tired of the whole thing and whenever there was a sign any reporter would visit, Sting was working in his office behind closed doors. Hiding, Rufus would say and Sting wouldn't correct him.

 

 

Sometimes it was unavoidable, facing him and his enthusiasm.

 

 

"A child! A symbol of your love!"

 

 

Linus looks like he can't decide between horror and embarrassment. When he ducks, his eyes are covered by his copper hair which is a bit longer than it used to, curling inward at the end. Without thinking about it, Rogue stands up and moves over from the bar, allowing Linus to hide behind him. The idle chatter is gone in an instant.

 

 

"I don't remember inviting you"

 

 

Sting who is sitting on the counter doesn't bother to stand up when he says it. Arms on his crossed legs, this is the best way to show that he is not welcome here without directly telling him. Jason, the professional he is, presses on, always thinking that you can't give up right away, otherwise you'll never get a good story.

 

 

"I heard rumours about Sabertooth's dragonslayers taking in a ten year old boy and obviously it couldn't wait until a set date. Why don't we -"

 

 

Looking back on it, he never stood a chance. It was obvious to anyone else that he'd never get an article without announcing a visit first. But he had ignored his colleagues' warnings and went for it. Now he has to deal with the consequences.

 

 

"There will be nothing about our child in the news", Sting interrupts him, still doesn't bother to stand up and greet him, "No photo or even a hint of any news. And just to make it clear: this counts for any child of this guild. Unless they give you permission on their own."

 

 

Rufus wonders how long it had been since Sting had been this authoritative in their presence. Amusingly enough, some of their members, judging by their surprised faces, seem to see this side of him for the first time. Ah, the youth. Rufus just hopes that Jason gets the message and leaves. The last thing they need is Rogue showing a bit more authority as well. The two of them could be quite terrifying. Especially when it's about protecting their family.

 

 

"Well, this seems a bit drastic, Can't we just -”

 

 

His voice wavers for the first time, but it's Rogue taking a step closer which shuts him up. As Sting's right-hand man, he only makes his presence known when it came to meetings with other mages, when they need to see their strength. Rufus is their diplomatic approach to a situation  and on a good day, he might have been the one to interfere. However, it is Yukino who, always trying to be gentle, helps with a more emphatic strategy in this moment.

 

 

"We just had to deal with kidnappers last week, so please understand where we are coming from."

 

 

"That is obviously a very valid reason. If you excuse me now."

 

 

Jason gestures wildly, nodding more to himself and longer than necessary, before he leaves without the interview he had hoped for. There is s short moment of silence before some of the older members start laughing. Minerva looks amused as well.

 

 

"That was dramatic."

 

 

"He doesn't understand it any other way", Sting mutters, a bit embarrassed now after all, though he ends up frowning; Rogue tries not to smile when he realises that it's because his legs must have fallen asleep.

 

 

"Uhm... dad?"

 

 

Even though they had been talking about him, Sting already forgot that their son had been here as well. He looks a bit sheepish when he apologises and tells the boy that they had just been worried. Linus shakes his head, says that it's fine. He seems relieved.

 

 

"Lucy did the same, right? So that she could protect the privacy of her child", Yukino muses.

 

 

"Don't worry", one of their guildmates says, "if they write about you after all, we'll have a few words with them."

 

 

They wouldn't do it for Sting alone but also for the boy. Most of them are very protective. Not just because of what happened to him. Only a few selected members know the actual reason why the boy had been kidnapped and they hope it stays like this.

 

 

No, it was because of the first time he had come to the guild, when Sting and Rogue introduced him as their son after a month during which they had acted rather suspiciously. They hadn't meant to hide him. They wanted to give Linus some time to get used to all of this first without overwhelming him. He had been introduced to most of them at once, shyly standing between his new parents.

 

 

"Hey, uhm. Linus, this is our guild. They are a bit rough around the edges but overall decent people. Guys? This is Linus, our son. We'll bring him with us from now on, so..."

 

 

He had looked over to Rogue, having lost his red string when they seem confused but otherwise remain silent.

 

 

"It would be nice if this guild can be a safe place like home."

 

 

They boy who had learned some manners at the orphanage, bows slightly, a "Thank you for having me" just loud enough for the ones in the front row. When he looked up to his dad, hoping that he hadn't done something wrong, and smiled when Sting ruffled his hair, they came to a collective decision.

 

 

This boy was part of Sabertooth and nobody will harm him.

 

 

"A symbol of their love, huh?", Minerva wonders.

 

 

"What does this mean?", Linus asks carefully; he is still not sure what to think of this woman, but he learned that she would always answer his questions in some ways.

 

 

"Just a phrase. Ignore it. People shouldn't be symbols for anything."

 

 

The question of what it should be then stays unspoken for exact 0.1 second. Nobody admits to have uttered the question in the first place. The bets are on Rufus though, but he simply smiles when someone accuses him of it. Anyway, it leaves them thinking and Yukino is the first to do so out loud.

 

 

"Maybe their rings. It's a promise to get married after all."

 

 

“Fro thinks so, too!”

 

 

“But is a promise automatically a symbol?”, Lector, genuinely confused, asks, wondering if this would have counted for his and Sting's promise from way back as well.

 

 

“If an item is involved, I'd say so, yes. In other words, a symbol is nothing else but a visualisation of a promise.”

 

 

“And since marriage is a result from love, the ring shows it?”

 

 

"We're right here, you know. No need to ignore us", Rogue informs Minerva and Yukino, taking back his place at the bar.

 

 

"Well, then what would you consider a symbol of your love?"

 

 

Minerva stresses the last word, pointedly raising an eyebrow. Rogue looks at Sting and, seeing his smug grin, realises the trap he stepped into.

 

 

"Yukino isn't really wrong, I guess?"

 

 

Their rings are on their left hand, speaking of their engagement. Rogue had bought them with the help of another guildmate, surprising Sting who had originally intended to buy rings for their wedding. He had been a bit miffed that the other one had been quicker, but he hadn't been able to hide how pleased he had been. While the proposal hadn't been planned, it had showed that Rogue was really serious about it as well, didn't agree just to make him happy.

 

Though that had been ages ago and so far they hadn't really bothered to get a proper ceremony.

 

 

Sometimes, Sting thinks about putting his ring on his right hand just so that people stop annoying him. The constant nagging about a wedding date is irritating. Most of the time he doesn't think about it at all. Rogue has a similar view on that. Their life is fine like this. The silver rings are nothing more than a symbol any way.

 

(Later, when Sting will lose his left arm, he'll just wear the ring on a chain around his neck. Rogue will do the same, to match him.)

 

 

This short version seems to please the boy. The engagement which happened before he was adopted a story he hasn't heard before. But the long version hidden from him would haven spoken volumes about their feelings. How deep those run.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They have scars all over their bodies. Some speak about the time they protected each other, some of the matches they fought for the guild. Tracing certain scars is something they do – have to do – in quiet moments, collecting their thoughts. Remembering each other after a nightmare that the scar is the only trace left of a fight. That they didn't die. Most of the time they are just there though and neither feels the need to hide them.

 

 

And that thought had been a surprise, that scars aren't a sign of weakness

 

 

Sabertooth is nothing like it once had been. Obviously any guild changes over time, when its members change. Certain rules are the reason it is still the guild it had been. Only because those were abolished is it able to truly change in its core.

 

 

Sting had never heard the story behind the monster their guild had been named after. He has the feeling that Minerva knows, but he had never pressed her to tell him. Maybe she will tell them on her own one day. Maybe not. There is another member of the guild, the oldest among them who had also been there the longest. He had just smiled when Rogue had asked him about it, like it was the biggest secret of the world and yet no secret at all. 'It's whatever you want it to be', his eyes seem to say and that is probably the whole truth. It's their sign of strength and in different colours – not just black and white, but the green, pink or rainbow one of their newest members – gives each an individual touch, their own added meaning.

 

 

In the end, the mark is their pride and so it is an important symbol as well.

 

 

Sting got another tattoo later, more painful than the stamp had been. But it had been worth it, the swirls of black ink on his skin, different from those Rogue got for himself. They had thought about their parents first, but decided against it. It is kind of weird, the idea to have a dragon on their skin as a dragonslayer and maybe a bit sad when they have to think of those who are already gone.

 

 

Instead, there is a flower done with black outlines, a zinnia. He thought about a scarlet one but tossed the idea aside. It didn't suit him and so fitting with his guildmark, he got two blossoms in white on his right shoulder.

 

 

Rogue refrained from colours as well, though some of them had tried to convince him of a watercolour look. The sunflower had been his first choice and when Sting had asked for the reason, he said that they always turn to the sun. Sting had almost cried because how dare he say something sappy like this with a smile directed at him like that – if he is Rogue's sun then so is the other one his pillar.

 

(They used to have arguments about this at the beginning, Rogue confessing that he's the shadow behind him which Sting wouldn't accept because he was much more than that, “can't you see how amazing you are, that I nee you as well, that neither of us is dispensable?”)

 

 

Well, that was the plan at least. Sting is still not sure how it happened, honestly, but Rogue willingly ended up with two roses on his right arm instead. It suits him. And Sting likes to trace the pink petals sometimes, followed by a trail of kisses along his skin, not just the tattooed part.

 

 

These marks on their body are visible to anyone, but their meanings are for them alone.

 

 

* * *

 

 

(There are also the signs of age. Muscles which spoke of time and training aside, their beards and wrinkles speak of a new stage in life, not yet old – far from it, they are still as active as they used to be – but a different chapter than their youth. Naturally, years later, they would start another chapter which will have its own symbols then. But neither would forget those they have now, not in a million years. Those meanings are etched into their brains.)

 

 

* * *

 

"Something wrong, Linus?"

 

 

The boy looks up from the arm chair he's sitting in, looking over to Rogue who, blanket over his legs and mug in his hands, is sitting sideways on the sofa. It's one of those quiet times they spend together once in a while, when the guild is too much for Linus but he doesn't want to be alone. Rogue never minds the silence, but he can tell that the boy is thinking about something in the way he slumped down. Even though they promised him that he can ask them anything he wants to, only told him that they might not be able to answer, though they would never dismiss any question, he tends to hesitate. Often it's also simply because he isn't quiet sure how to ask them. Words are hard.

 

 

"I was just wondering...", he says, looking down at his own guildmark on the back of his left hand "if this is a symbol of love as well..."

 

 

Rogue smiles.

 

 

"Yes, it is. There are different types of love, Linus. My mother used to tell me that as well. We love you as our son and the rest of the guild does as well. And neither form of love is superior to the other."

 

 

These words get him thinking. Before he can say anything else though, Sting enters the living room, the Exceeds trailing behind him.

 

 

"Quick question"

 

 

Without hesitation, Sting sits down on the sofa when Rogue automatically pulls up his legs to make room for him. Lector joins Linus, handing him a book which he had found while cleaning up. The boy takes it eagerly, allowing Frosch to sit on his lap and leaving his parents to talk to each other. Rogue closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he manages to look at Sting.

 

 

"Go ahead."

 

 

"Let's say I was going to redecorate our house and I'd accidentally broke something... what would I have to do so that you'll forgive me?"

 

 

Rogue pauses for a moment. He remembers him talking to Rufus about making their living room cosier. He feels Sting's hand on his ankle under the blanket, more as a comforting gesture for himself, he assumes. Placing his mug on the table, he moves so that they are sitting next to each other. His glance sweeps over the room, realising the empty place on a small table close to the bookshelf. Then his eyes rest on Sting's hands which have some dried clay on them.

 

 

"Did you break that ugly vase Gajeel got us when he heard we're engaged? The one he made himself when he was dragged on that mission and called 'eternal love' to annoy us?"

 

 

"Accidentally broke it", Sting corrects him, though Rogue doesn't reply, looking over to Linus who seems rather curious; he loves when they tell him various tales about other guilds.

 

 

"I'd say that getting rid of it is good enough."

 

 

Sting seems relieved. Apparently, his reparation attempt hadn't been too successfully then. Rogue wonders if he'd really think that he would be angry with him because of that ugly thing. Maybe the whole talk about love and symbols had gotten to him. After all, he could get quite sentimental like that. Nowadays, he's rather nostalgic. Even though they just reached their early thirties.

 

 

"You can go and pick up something new with Linus. Maybe get something for his room when you're on your way", he suggests, also to get him out of the house for some fresh air.

 

 

"I love you so much, you know that?"

 

 

That comes out of nowhere. Rogue feels himself blush which causes Sting to grin. He leans over to kiss him. Hands brushing against his neck. Unbeknownst to them, Linus hides his face behind his book. He's easily embarrassed when his dads act like that, since it's nothing he's used to. Well, and they are his parents, so he'll probably never will.

 

 

"We'll bring you something nice as well."

 

 

"Do that. No ugly clay figure though. Please."

 

 

"Don't let that hear Gajeel, he's going to cry otherwise. Well, come on then, Linus. Let's get your papa something hideous."

 

 

“A symbol of love?”

 

 

Rogue smiles fondly. Looks like he can't seem to let go of that. It shouldn't be that surprising, honestly, that he craves their love. Rogue had been like this as well, when he had been younger. Truth to be told, he's still yearning for it and Sting gladly offers it. Often enough he doesn't even need to ask him. He'll just know that the other one needs a few words or a touch to settle down.

 

 

“No. Just something decorative. And then we can get some ice cream if you like.”

 

 

“Y-yes.”

 

 

Rogue can't help smiling. He loves Sting so much as well, and seeing him with their son like this makes his heart melt. It's something he would have never imagined happening to him and yet, here they are, as a family.

 

 

“Papa?”

 

 

Linus turns back to him before he leaves the room, hands wringing with the front of his shirt, before he looks up to meet his gaze.

 

 

“Thank you.”

 

 

Then he basically runs after Sting, not waiting for Rogue to respond. And Rogue? He just hides his face in his hands, takes a deep breath and feels immensely grateful for his family.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! The tattoos were a late idea, so don't worry, you haven't missed them in earlier works... also some hints for future stories are hidden here and there... this series won't end soon, I guess???  
> Zinnia, white = goodness, pink rose = healing, first love, innocence


End file.
